Fishing Lesson

I was in my kayak fishing yesterday when this osprey decided to give me a lesson on how it's done.  It was about 175 yards away so these are heavily cropped.  Nikon D7200.  Sigma 100-400 (at 400).  Manual Mode with Auto ISO.  1/640 sec, F6.3.  ISO 100-160.

I was set up for shooting herons and egrets along the shore and the osprey was totally unexpected.  Wish I had used higher shutter speed but it is what it is.  Here's the sequence.

Well, that didn't pan out.  The photos were supposed to be in a sequence.  I guess you all can figure that out.  I have absolutely no idea how to go back and edit the post to put the photos in the correct order.
the order should have been:
_2JS2197
_2JS2198
_2JS2203
_2JS2207
_2JS22212

i got what you are trying to do here. Really nice timing. But some shots needs some sharpness. 

It would have been a great moment if you were able to adjust the shutter speed. But nevertheless, there are some great snap, the last photo for instance. 

I agree with everything said. However this was taken from a moving kayak and came about totally unexpected. I’m surprised they came out as good as they did.  Also, the ones where it is coming off the water were about 175 yards out, heavily cropped.

I posted these more because it was a cool sequence than for photographic excellence.
I categorize my wildlife and nature photography into 3 major classifications.
1) ID Shot ( used for when I get home to help identify a bird, flower or other creature or to help others make an identification.)

2) Documentary - been there/done that, seen this.  The above photos fall more into the documentary category.

3) Creative / artistic photography.  Probably not the best way to describe.  The below would be more representative of the 3rd category.  

One thing I never set up a scene (even with wildflowers).  All are taken in their natural environment.  I would never do something like "cut" a wildflower to move it to a more attractive spot.  I also don't believe it is right to call in animals or purposely flush them out.  Yes, we flush them out when walking through the woods, can't be helped.  I'm talking what I saw one photographer do when he threw a rock into a lake to get some ducks to flush to get bird in flight shots.

An example would be the blue wing teal.  This pair was coming in for a landing.  I was sitting in the reeds alongside the pond waiting for them to come in as I knew it had been frequented with several pair.

On the second set, the second shot is the most successful. I like the color and contrast of the shot. 

Alyssa Briggs wrote: On the second set, the second shot is the most successful. I like the color and contrast of the shot. 

Thanks Alyssa.
The pair of blue wing teal was also a bit of a lucky break.  I was photographing a pair of mating snapping turtles on this pond when I heard the wing beats as they were coming in.  I was able to fire off a couple shots right before they touched down.  When one is laying down on his/her belly getting low angle shots of turtles and a pair of teal fly by it's an auto fo "how fast can I get into position and get a shot"....

Thanks again for your comments.
Jeff

I guess we need to train our body to capture unexpected shots because most of the time they turn out to be unexpectedly good shots just like what you have here. Nice DoF for the 2nd photo. I really like the focus too. 

Bobby Mitchell wrote: I guess we need to train our body to capture unexpected shots because most of the time they turn out to be unexpectedly good shots just like what you have here. Nice DoF for the 2nd photo. I really like the focus too. 

Bobby, I think the best thing is to not let yourself get old and fat like me. 
Jeff

Hilarious! To be a photographer, we need to be physically active all the time.